The government is preparing to ditch NHS national targets in an attempt to “boost efficiency”, as part of recommendations from a review led by a former Labour health secretary. Patricia Hewitt led the government-commissioned review into the NHS in England, looking at how the new integrated care systems (ICSs) could operate efficiently. The chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, announced the assessment during the autumn budget. Labour has warned the government that scrapping these targets equates to “scrapping standards altogether”. The shadow health secretary, Wes Streeting, said the answer to the problems faced by the NHS was “cutting waiting times, not cutting standards for patients”. The review was launched in the hope that the ICSs will be able to function with fewer national targets and more control so they are accountable for performance and spending. The i newspaper reported that the majority of England’s targets would be scrapped, with a greater emphasis on local management of the healthcare system along similar lines to schools. Streeting said: “After years of failing to meet basic standards for patients, the government is now looking to water down or scrap standards altogether. The answer is cutting waiting times, not cutting standards for patients. It is a disgrace that patients are spending 24 hours in A&E, suspected heart attack and stroke victims are waiting around an hour for an ambulance, and that patients have waited longer for cancer care every year since 2010. “The next Labour government will agree a plan with the NHS to bring down waiting times to safe and acceptable levels, and begin working towards them straight away. At the heart of that plan will be our pledge to train a new generation of doctors and nurses, paid for by abolishing the non-dom tax status.” NHS figures show 68.9% of emergency patients in England were seen within four hours last month, down from 69.3% in October, making it its worst performance on record. The health service has a target for at least 95% of patients attending A&E to be seen within four hours, but this has not been met nationally since 2015. When the Hewitt review was announced in November, it was given the task of exploring how to “empower local leaders” including by “reducing the number of national targets”. Hewitt was thought of as a moderniser in the Blair years, having worked as health secretary in his final administration. She served as a member of parliament for Leicester West from 1997 to 2010. An initial draft of Hewitt’s report is expected by the end of January, with a final version by mid-March. Announcing Hewitt’s new role advising on the new NHS administrative units, Hunt said: “I have asked former health secretary and chair of the Norfolk and Waveney integrated care system Patricia Hewitt to help me and the health secretary [to advise] us on how to make sure the new integrated care boards work properly with appropriate autonomy and accountability.”